Use of rigid and flexible sigmoidoscopy by family physicians in the United States.

To investigate the incidence of use of the flexible and rigid proctosigmoidoscopes by family physicians, a questionnaire was mailed to 1,585 randomly selected members of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Of the total of 1,057 respondents, 48 percent performed sigmoidoscopy, with 30 percent performing flexible sigmoidoscopy, 31 percent performing rigid sigmoidoscopy, and 48 percent performing at least one of the procedures. Younger physicians were found to be more likely to perform flexible sigmoidoscopy, as were physicians who practice in communities of fewer than 500,000 population. Nationwide, more of the flexible procedures are performed in private offices than in the hospital. Physicians in communities of less than 500,000, however, are more likely to use the flexible sigmoidoscope in a hospital setting than are physicians in larger urban areas [corrected]. Board-certified physicians were more likely to perform one or both procedures than were noncertified physicians.